Sunday, March 30, 2008

KL International Marathon 2008...

It was a fine day. In fact, it was just too good. The day I have been waiting for has finally arrived. KL International Marathon 2008, my third marathon. It all comes down to this after all my training.

Woke up at 12am feeling refreshed and energised. After preparing myself, I left for the "battlefield". Arrived at Bukit Aman carpark at 3.15am and waited for Choi. He arrived shortly and we were joined by Jason as we made our way to Dataran Merdeka. It was an approximately 1KM walk there, so it's a good way to warm up. Upon reaching, I met up with Haza, Rashid and Yip. Went to the washroom and cleared everything before I reported in. Met up with the rest of the Pacemakers like Jamie, Kenny, Kit, Dinesh, Shine and Ping Loong, and we chatted and wished each other just before the start of the run. At 4.30am sharp, we were flag off. We all gave each other a thumbs up and it's the start of a long adventure.

I started very well, in fact too well. I found Jamie and Choi and decided to pace with them. It was then at the 2KM mark that I decided to go ahead of them. Reason is because I know that I will lose them eventually if they are ahead of me. Therefore, knowing they are just behind me, I managed to maintain an average pace of 5:45/KM. Talk about pressure. I also overtook Ping Loong shortly. I arrived at the 10KM mark at 01:03:32, still feeling fresh. Stepped on the mat, *beep* goes my ChampionChip and it's 1 down, 3 to go. It was at the 15KM mark that Jamie and Choi went in front of me. My pace has dropped to an average 6:00/KM. I still managed to pace with them but they eventually went further and further away from me. It was around the 17.5KM mark, that I lost both of them. Sigh...I'm all alone. I reached the halfway point 02:10:21, a very good achievement for me. Out of a dark corner, Shine suddenly overtook me and just disappeared!

From here on, although my energy level is still good, I can feel my legs weakening. My pace has dropped to an average of 6:40/KM. But I didn't want to stop and rest just yet as I told myself not too until I breach 33KM which is the longest running distance I've done which is at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007. At around the 25KM mark, there was this ClimaCool zone prepared by adidas. Last year, there wasn't a single drop of water. But this time, it was showering so darn heavily! I didn't want to get wet, so I just ran pass it from the side washing my hands in the process. Arrived back at Dataran Merdeka for the U-turn. Further ahead, both my ankle joints was really hurting but upon checking my time, I have completed 28KM in around 02:58:00. Although just a slight improvement over my circuit run, I was still motivated. Pain aside, I kept going and was greeted by the PowerBar booth at the 30KM mark. *Beep* goes the third mat as I clocked 03:19:26 and continued on with my journey. My pace dropped drastically to an average of 7:50/KM. I eventually reached the 33KM mark. I told myself that I must go till 34KM before I take my first stop as my ankle was really hurting like no tomorrow. And as I arrived at the 34KM mark, I told myself, "Why not another kilometer?" I kept asking myself this as I completed another kilometer and it was when I reach the last 4KM, I told myself to go all out till the end. Chest was feeling a bit tight here and although I do not want to do a Ryan Shay, that didn't slow my progress. It was really tricky towards the end as it was hilly. But it didn't stop me from increasing my pace back to 6:30/KM. And it was at the last 1KM that I started to empty my tank. I finally saw it, the finish line. Kenny who was making his way back to his car saw me and cheered for me. It was so precious and that push me all the way. Near to the finish line, the Pacemakers were there to cheer all runners on. Ronnie, Lai, Jaime, Choi, Pueh Tian were all there. I compose myself emotionally and as usual look up the sky for one final push as I stepped on the final mat and *beep* goes my ChampionChip, crossing the finish line at 04:46:22, 25 minutes 38 seconds shaved off my previous personal best set at Singapore last year. I screamed to myself at the finish line punching my fist before settling down to collect my finisher's medal.

Towards the finish line...

A tired but yet proud runner...

I made my way back to meet up with the Pacemakers and was congratulated by them for a job well done. I was really touched, proud and happy. Not only did I shaved time off my previous personal record, but I actually ran a sub 5 hours marathon. To make things event sweeter, it was from the start till the finish line, a whooping 42.195KM! A major achievement for me. It was a perfect start to a full marathon adventure for 2008.

A few things though. On the positive side, water and sponging stations were oragnised very well this time. Traffic control was also a step up from last year. However, I was disappointed that there weren't any cheerleaders or bands throughout the entire course of the race except for 2 places where some employees from adidas was screaming off their lungs. Looks and sound like hooligans! And the finisher's t-shirt. OMG! I do not know how to describe the awfulness of it. But anyway, it's all over. See everyone at KL International Marathon 2009! .

haza: Oh my! XXXL is so darn big. Can't they think that most runners are slim. Should have gotten ready more smaller size shirt. adidas to sponsor? Hmmm... Maybe I should remind Krishnan about this for next year's edition.

About Me...

Disclaimer...

All entries and reviews are based on the author's personal point of view. All entries, photographs and videos are properties of their respective owners and reproduction in any form is strictly prohibited.